The U18 Brantford 99ers faced off against the Cambridge Hawks, and won 4-2 during the Wayne Gretzky International Hockey Tournament on Thursday, December 29, 2022.
The Hawks started off strong at the beginning of the first, keeping their players in the 99ers zone. With 7:48 minutes left in the first, 99ers player Owen Bertling received a penalty, leading to a short-handed goal by Jaxon Hurley.
Tensions were high during the first as there was plenty of pushing on the ice as the Hawks made their way into the offensive zone. 99ers goalie Cullen Goobie blocked several scoring attempts to end the period.
Brantford 99ers took control to start the second period, keeping the Hawks on the defensive but Hawks forward Keaton Graham tied the score with 7:32 minutes left in the second stanza.
Still tied, the third period began with the 99ers pressing forward into the Hawks territory, forcing the opposing team to keep up their defense. Brantford 99ers Jacob Whitfield received a penalty just before the seven minute mark. In the last five minutes, the game saw plenty of action with 99ers forwards Adam Malatesta and Hunter Atlee scoring goals a minute apart, bringing the score 3-1.
With nearly three minutes left in the third, Hawks’ Jake Dyson brought the score to 3-2 then 99ers player Jaxon Hurley, scored the final goal with five seconds left in the third giving the home team the 4-2 victory.
Hawks James Mackey and 99ers Jacob Whitfield were awarded the player of the game awards for each of their teams.
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
